Record attendance for 'best ever' Large Herd Seminar
The best ever! That was the general consensus of opinion from the 300-plus delegates who attended the 2011 Large Herd Seminar, ’Measuring Outcome, Managing Outcome’, which took place last week at Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire.
Featuring a wide range of eminent and influential speakers from around the world, the event provided delegates with a fascinating mix of in-depth technical information, access to the latest research findings together with practical on- farm experience from leading large-scale dairy farmers in the UK and USA, all of which provided compelling listening.
The UK speaker contingent included Professor Martin Green, Professor of Cattle Health & Epidemiology at Nottingham University, who focused on ’Improving mastitis control in the light of recent research’, while Dr Nick Bell, Lecturer in Livestock Extension Services at the Royal Veterinary College, considered ’Managing for zero lameness.’ Providing practical on-farm experience Cornwall farmer Robert Wills, who manages 990 dairy cows in the WillsBro Herd, provided a fascinating insight into a new method of mastitis management which was developed by Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health. Aimed at large-scale dairy units in the UK, it was trialed on the farm in 2010 and demonstrated major improvements in mastitis control.
An attraction of the Large Herd Seminar is that it provides delegates with an opportunity to hear from a number of highly influential overseas speakers. This year they included Thomas Overton, Associate Professor at Cornell University who spoke on the subject of Keys to transition success, Barry Bradford, Associate Professor, Kansas State University who discussed ’Hepatic Oxidation Theory - HOT or COLD diets?’, Dana Tomlinson who investigated ’Immune Status, the Impact of Mineral Nutrition’ and Steve Eicker who focused on ’Monitoring Dairy Herd Performance’.
Delegates were captivated by Jordan Leak, Operations Manager for Aardema Dairies in Jerome, Idaho, who gave them a fascinating insight into how he manages 30,000 cows and 350 employees on seven dairies, while Dale Craig, Dairy Unit Manager for McArthur Farms in Florida, highlighted how he focused intently on the needs of the cow to achieve optimum performance in his 2400 cow unit, one of four on the farm.
The Large Herd Seminar is organised by Warwick Bastard of Lillico Attlee, one of the UK’s largest privately-owned agricultural merchants, together with Richard Vecqueray of the Evidence Based Veterinary Consultancy in Penrith, Cumbria.
Commenting on the success of this year’s event, Warwick Bastard stated:
"Richard and I have been delighted with the response to this year’s Large Herd Seminar, which was the biggest and best ever. Since the first Large Herd Seminar was held in 2005 the number of delegates has risen rapidly to a record 320 this year. The event’s ever-increasing popularity is due to the fact that it provides forward-thinking dairy producers, nutritionists, consultants, veterinary surgeons and representatives from companies which supply the dairy industry with access to the latest research findings, management know-how and practical techniques from around the world.
